


sojourn

by playmaker



Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Andrew Minyard Has Feelings, First Meetings, Fluff and Humor, Light Angst, M/M, Past Abuse, Pining, Strangers to Lovers, maybe a bit ooc
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-31
Updated: 2018-05-31
Packaged: 2019-05-16 09:10:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,811
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14808434
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/playmaker/pseuds/playmaker
Summary: At the specialty tea shop, Sojourn, all kinds of characters pass through.People always come and go— a temporary stay, just as the same suggests. Andrew never expected to want someone to stay.





	sojourn

**Author's Note:**

> heres a thing. not that cute first meeting but andrew is immediately taken

 

Andrew showed up to Sojourn at six in the morning, sharp, with a band-aid across the bridge of his nose and bruising under his eyes. His nose had broken, definitely, and the additional damage caused by shifting it back into place had been rewarded with matching black eyes.

Andrew couldn’t really complain. He had suffered worse while sparring with Renee, and the cause of his injury didn’t hit nearly as hard as she did. However, Renee also never aimed for his face.

When he walked in, Nicky emerged from the kitchen at the sound of the bell to greet Andrew, but stopped short when he saw him.

“Oh my  _ god,  _ your  _ face! _ ” he cried, tossing the rag he was holding onto the counter and rushing over, his hands hovering around Andrew but not touching. “What happened to you?”

“Some kid punched me in the face,” he said nonchalantly, skirting around Nicky to put his waist apron on.

“Are you okay?” Nicky asked, following him like a mother hen. “Are  _ they  _ okay? You didn’t put anyone in the hospital again, did you? Oh god, you probably totalled the poor kid…”   
Andrew looked at Nicky, who had a hand resting on his cheek as he stared off into space, concern knitting his brows.

“Have some faith. I didn’t touch him.”

Nicky’s brows shot up as he flicked his eyes to Andrew, obviously more surprised by the fact that Andrew didn’t retaliate or instigate.

“Well,” he began, composing himself. “In any case, you’ll scare the customers away more than usual with that face. I’ll take front today, and you can do cakes, okay?”

Andrew nodded and nudged Nicky’s shoulder with his own in thanks before disappearing into the kitchen.

 

Sojourn was a specialty tea shop owned and run by Nicky and his husband, Erik. They functioned like a cafe, selling different tea blends, pastries, and cakes, as well as selling bags of their most popular loose tea blends and mugs with their swirling logo printed across the front. They had hot teas, cold brews, mini cakes, scones, tea cookies, and more, all with classic or outlandish flavours.

The whole place had a sort of whimsical atmosphere to it, with soft white lighting, pale purple accents, and dark wood floors and ceilings. Fairy lights were strung around doorways and up and down walls, and cherrywood bookshelves lined the back area, overflowing with old books.

The tables and chairs were the same dark, stained wood, with dainty lace doilies laid out on tabletops and small purple candles at their center.

Andrew sort of hated it on principle, but he could still see the appeal. His closest friend, Renee, adored it, of course

Still, he was silently grateful to be on kitchen duty. He could only listen to the weird, hypnotic lo-fi livestream that Nicky played over the speakers in the front for so long.

Today, their spotlight food item was mini earl grey and lavender cakes with honey and vanilla buttercream. Personally, Andrew would’ve preferred the dark chocolate and orange cakes, but he could deal.

He set to work, continuing where Nicky left off. For Andrew, baking was enjoyable in it’s mindlessness, and although it was never a hobby (let alone career) he considered pursuing, he didn’t really mind. He figured he could let Aaron be the wildly successful twin, what with his career as a pediatric doctor.

Soon, the cakes were baking and the icing was stiffening in the fridge. Andrew busied himself with the preparations for the other baking that needed to be done before ten. Sojourn opened at six thirty, but they didn’t put out the sweets until a bit later. Most people didn’t want anything other than muffins or scones (which Nicky had already done and put out) until later in the day, and Nicky didn’t want the cakes to dry out.

As he sprinkled flour across the countertop for the cookie dough that had been chilling overnight, he reached up to dust off the tickle of flour that he felt dusting his nose, completely forgetting about his broken nose.

He cursed, cupping his nose as his eyes began to water.

Andrew scowled at the clock to see how long he had been at it and relaxed when he saw it was only quarter past eight. He still had plenty of time and figured a short break wouldn’t hurt while the cakes were in the oven. 

He slipped off his apron and tossed it onto a stool, making his way to the sinks to wash the flour off of his hands. Once he was done, he slipped into the staff room to grab his cigarettes, sending Erik a short ‘good morning’ as he passed his open office door.

Andrew went out the back door, propping it open a bit with a wood block, and sat on the back step. He lit his smoke and watched the end get brighter and he pulled before exhaling and watching the haze float up into the cloudy sky.

Against his better judgement, he thought back to the previous day and to the kid who broke his nose. It was technically his fault since he startled the guy, but he didn’t expect to get  _ punched  _ for it.

He had been walking home from work since his car was in the shop when he saw a boy, probably only a bit younger than him, crouched over something on the edge of the sidewalk. Andrew wasn’t that curious, really, but he was bored.

He had stood behind the boy and leaned down, peeking over his shoulder. There, cupped in his hands, was a tiny kitten, eyes half-open and little legs shaking.

“It’s a cat,” Andrew said obviously, alerting the kid of his presence. Unfortunately, he should’ve done so when he was out of arm’s reach.

The kid spooked, nearly dropping the kitten, and whirled around fist-first, nailing Andrew in the nose with a solid right straight before he could move away.

Andrew stepped back and grabbed his nose.

“Ow,” he said dully, looking at the kid. He was mildly considering whether or not he would knife a kid with a kitten in his hands.

The boy shot up, kitten still cradled in his left hand and eyes wide.

“Oh my god, I am  _ so _ sorry, you scared the shit out of me, and I just—” he stopped short, grimacing. “You’re definitely bleeding. Jesus, that is definitely broken.”

That he was. Andrew could feel the blood dripping through his fingers and onto the pavement. He wiped off the majority of it with the sleeve of his leather jacket, resisting a wince at the discomfort. Holding either side of his nose, he jerked his wrist, forcing it back into place.

The kid visibly cringed at the crack it made, frowning apologetically.

“Again, I am  _ so  _ sorry—”

“Don’t. I would’ve beat the shit out of anyone if they did the same thing. I wasn’t thinking.”

Andrew  _ definitely _ wasn’t thinking at that exact moment, either. He finally got a good look at his attacker and his chest immediately hollowed. He was lean and only a bit taller than Andrew, with sharp cheekbones and a dusting of freckles peeing out from underneath white gauze taped to his face. His hair was a mess of curly rust and his eyes were glaciers on their own. Andrew didn’t know what this kid’s deal was, punching him in the face and then having the audacity to be that pretty.

“I mean, I didn’t really beat the shit out of you, but— well, still, I feel bad. Can I buy you coffee or something? As an apology? I’m Neil, by the way.”

“Andrew,” he replied, still holding his nose. “And don’t bother, I work at a cafe. I get free drinks anyway.” 

Andrew silently cursed himself for shooting him down, searching for something to keep talking to this unfairly attractive individual and to undo the small frown that had settled on Neil’s face at the rejection.

“What’s with the cat?”

“Cat?” Neil asked, confused. “Oh! I don’t know, actually. I just saw him on the sidewalk and was wondering if he was abandoned. I can’t have pets though, so the only help I’d be would be taking him to a shelter…”

Neil seemed genuinely troubled by the potential fate of the kitten.

_ Don’t say you’ll take it.  _ “I’ll take it.”  _ Fuck _ .

Neil’s eyes brightened. “For real? That’s great! I was worried he’d end up getting put down.”

Neil continued to ramble about his concerns as he handed the small kitten off the Andrew, who held it against it chest with one hand.

“You’re probably going to have to take him to the vet, get him checked up. God, I broke your nose, and now I’m forcing you to be a parent. I still feel bad about this whole thing.”

“Seriously,” Andrew stressed again. “Don’t worry about it. Nicky’s been begging for a pet, anyway.”

Neil tilted his head in silent question.

“My cousin. I’m staying with him.”

A lie, technically. Sure, Nicky would be thrilled, but Andrew moved out a year ago when Erik moved in. Now, he lived in an apartment a five minute drive from Nicky and Erik’s. Still, for some reason he felt like he needed to make Neil feel less guilty.

“That’s good, then. Again, I’m sorry for the nose, and thank you so much for—”

Neil was cut off by his ringtone and his face immediately paled. He glanced at the caller ID before smiling apologetically at Andrew.

“I’ve gotta run. I was supposed to meet up with my friend half an hour ago. Again, thanks so much.”

Neil waved at Andrew, whose hands were full of both blood and a kitten, and really  _ did _ run. Andrew watched him go for maybe longer than strictly necessary.

 

Andrew shook the memory away, crushing his cigarette and tossing it away. Nicky would have a field day if he found out Andrew let a guy break his nose and give him a cat just because he was pretty.

Andrew huffed, standing up and heading back inside, letting the door shut behind him.

As he was on his way back to the kitchen, he could hear the tell-tale signs of Nicky flirting with another customer. It was frequent and mostly harmless, and Nicky and Erik both had an ongoing competition of who could get more phone numbers per-shift (Erik held the record), but Andrew still went out front to see what was happening.

He almost immediately regretted his decision when he saw a familiar face laughing awkwardly at something Nicky had said. Andrew leaned against the doorway to the staff area, watching the exchange.

Neil caught his figure from the corner of his eye and he started, staring widely.

“Andrew,” he said dumbly, causing Nicky to stop whatever he was saying abruptly. 

“Neil,” he returned, voice nonchalant.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> lmk of any errors, comments & kudos appreciated! more to come <3


End file.
